Turn the clock back 20 years to September 22, 1986. The venue is the MA
Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk, Madras. The time: 5.18 pm. Australian
off spinner Greg Matthews runs in to bowl to Indian No 11 Maninder
Singh. The ball is a trifle short and Maninder goes back. But the ball
turns and strikes him on the pads in front of the stumps. There is a
vociferous appeal and umpire Vikram Raju is quick to lift his index
finger. That signal is the final act in a pulsating climax that sees
the first Test between India and Australia end in a tie – only the
second such result in 1052 matches.

&nbsp

Predictably enough I have had many memorable moments in my long career
as a sports journalist specializing in cricket writing. But watching
and writing on Tied Test II has to be there right on top of the list.
My mind is full of indelible memories of those five days – September 18
to 22. For starters I remember that the stadium was a cauldron
throughout the match. September is known as ``second summer’’ in the
southern metropolis and it certainly lived up to this reputation. In 35
years of watching cricket at Chepauk I have never experienced the kind
of intense heat and humidity that prevailed. And in these oppressive
conditions for a visiting batsman to get a double hundred in a stay of
nearly 8-1/2 hours has to constitute one of the most heroic feats by a
cricketer. And that is why Dean Jones gets pride of place when it comes
to listing the heroes of this historic encounter. Midway through the
innings overcome by the enervating heat the 25-year-old Victorian
right-hander started retching by the side of the crease. But he refused
to leave the crease and after receiving medical attention continued to
bat. Later he was overcome by bouts of nausea and cramps but still
continued to stay in the middle before he was finally out at 210. Back
in the comparative cool confines of the pavilion Jones was found to be
completely dehydrated and was rushed to hospital for saline treatment.

&nbsp

Jones then as I said emerges as the heroic figure of the match but can
Kapil Dev be far behind? Replying to Australia’s 574 for seven
declared, India were facing the ignominy of a follow on when the Indian
captain entered on the third evening. And with a counter attack only he
could have scripted Kapil Dev flayed the attack to all parts of the
ground in hitting 119 before he was last out at 397 on the fourth
afternoon. By the time he was dismissed not only had the follow on been
averted but to all intents and purposes the match also had been saved.

&nbsp

At least that’s what we all thought when we made our way to Chepauk for
the final day’s play. Australia without showing much urgency had made
170 for five and the word `draw’ was written all over the match. Allan
Border’s unexpected declaration at this juncture however opened up
several possibilities. India now had to get 348 for victory in 87 overs
and on the evidence of the first innings the Aussie captain’s decision
did seem to have an element of risk. It did not appear that the
Australians had the bowling to dismiss a strong Indian batting line up
in a day. And India did seem to have things under control with a score
of 190 for two at tea with 30 overs remaining to be bowled. With eight
wickets in hand 158 runs were eminently gettable but the post tea
session provided the third hero of the game. Greg Matthews after
scoring 44 had taken five wickets in the first innings. In the second
innings the off spinner bowled unchanged for 40 overs and slowly got
Australia back in the match. Wickets fell at regular intervals even as
runs were being scored and it was clear that the spectators were going
to witness a thrilling finish. The stadium was sparsely occupied
initially with the match seemingly doomed to a draw but Border’s
declaration and India’s fitting reply meant that the stadium was almost
filled to capacity towards the final stages.

&nbsp

I well remember that India were 330 for six with five overs left – a
winning position. But the never say die spirit of the Aussies saw them
claw back. Ray Bright the left arm spinner took two wickets in one over
as India slid to 334 for eight. Shivlal Yadav was ninth out at 344 in
the penultimate over and by now it was sheer bedlam. We all knew that
there was a distinct possibility of a sensational result – a tie! Ravi
Shastri was holding one end up commendably and it was now a straight
duel between him and the untiring Matthews bowling with his sleeves
buttoned to his wrist and with his baggy green cap on.

&nbsp

By now the spectators were on their feet clapping, cheering and
shouting themselves hoarse. Matthews started the last over with India
needing four runs and Australia wanting one wicket. Shastri expertly
controlling things scored three runs to level the scores giving
Maninder the task of getting the winning run. But Matthews keeping his
cool in the unbelievably tense situation had the final say by having
Maninder leg before with the fifth ball of the over for his tenth
wicket of the match. It was a tie after all with both teams having
scored 744 runs.